


Imagination Forest / Shounen Brave (MEZZO”)

by HakanaiFleeting, Trilinklover



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game), Kagerou Project
Genre: Domestic MEZZO'' kinda, Imagination forest, Kagerou Project AU, Lots of Angst, My sister and I were just listening to the songs and was like - what if IDOLiSH7, Should have saved this for Kage pro day but meh, Shounen Brave, also angst, how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-25 12:14:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19745560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HakanaiFleeting/pseuds/HakanaiFleeting, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trilinklover/pseuds/Trilinklover
Summary: Remaining isolated in a house in the middle of the forest never brought about the most interesting social life, with only himself for company. However, one day someone knocks on the door that has not made any sound in many years. Who could blame Sougo for grabbing the closest thing near him and bracing himself emotionally for what threat may be behind the door?Hearing the voices of others inside of his head was driving him insane! As such, Tamaki ran far away from the sounds of the city and eventually found himself in front of a lone cabin in the woods. Eventually he works up enough bravery to knock upon the door.Two people with a similar power come together in an act that can almost be called destiny.





	Imagination Forest / Shounen Brave (MEZZO”)

Sunlight shines brightly over a small house in the middle of a lush green forest. Inside the house sat a younger man, no older than 20 years old. His short white hair almost glimmered in the bit of sunlight that had been gained from sitting near the window. Purple eyes follow the pages of the book before him, scanning the words he has read over a thousand times already. Being alone has grown normal for him, a lack of life filling his being. 

"Don't be loud, and do not under any circumstances wander far from this house” His father had once told him the moment he had turned attention to something he had read about in numerous books that they had held - music. “They’ll hear you, find out that you are here and come to hunt us. By coming here they can be frozen by us - one look and that’s all it takes after all. Sougo, you of all people should know this.” At the time however Sougo had simply bit his tongue and taken it. Of course, that wouldn’t end well as one time when he went outside to explore a bit he was assaulted by some people who had heard just what his family's eyes could do. How they could freeze people. That was the last time he had ever saw his father - his mother had apparently died in childbirth.

And so, here we have Sougo, alone yet unable to allow himself simple pleasures. Contemplating why he is still living every day yet still continuing on. Trapped inside the tower by his own means - leaving on occasion to get food and whatnot, however he is trapped by the expectations of what the outside could be after what had happened last time he saw anything in person. What’s sung in the songs he listens to, the writings in the books he’s read - they are clearly lies right?

Even so, when inside the tower he feels a bit freer to be himself, after all it is a safe haven for him. So when he decides to sing something to himself under the assumption that most people wouldn’t dare come near the tower - the rumors are apparently quite brutal about what lies in these woods - he doesn’t expect anyone to hear his voice, let alone follow it to get to the tower. Music was his only release and friend in this lonely place and as such he couldn’t have that taken away from him.

A song echoes inside the tower to all that could hear it, stemming from the purple eyed boys heart. The song can be heard outside of the tower, and around the vast forest, where the animals reside that have been his only companions. All he knows is how he is drowning in loneliness, the constant fear and that is tearing him apart at the seams. He wishes for someone to prove to him that his dad was wrong. That humanity is not dangerous and the numerous songs that tell the tale of how society is, the book telling of how wonderful people are, are not incorrect. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tamaki's breath hitched as he ran through the forest. The young boy pays no mind to his surroundings, his primary thought to get away from the voices, away from those ugly thoughts everyone has but never let come to light. As he gets farther from the endless voices, he finally begins to slow his pace and even out his breath.

He hasn't always had this problem, hearing others' thoughts. He had been alone, after his sister had been adopted by a well-to-do family. He's not angry at that, after all she has somewhere to belong and she's being well cared for. But he doesn't care to admit aloud he felt lonely, as though he'd been thrown aside, abandoned. 

Those feelings, his lowest moments… it's when those became overwhelming when he had met his first friend-outside of Aya that is. A young puppy, it's golden fur slightly matted and quite obviously neglected. Despite the state of the two of them, they felt the same. Tamaki had hugged the dog tightly, wishing for any kind of comfort to come. This dog… Surely it isn't like everyone else, it wouldn't leave him, it wouldn't judge or blame. He became close with the dog, it being his only friend, the one comfort in the world of hurt his life had become. 

But even that didn't last.

It was a mistake on a rainy summer day, the boy and dog, walking near a river. However, with one misstep, Tamaki had fallen into the rampaging river. Time slowed down for him as he struggled through the water, trying in vain to stay afloat. However, not too long after falling, he felt something under his body. His only friend, the courageous young dog gave his everything to save the blue haired boy. Only Tamaki came out of the experience alive.

Since that day, Tamaki has been troubled with the thoughts of others constantly filling his head. It's annoying, hearing everyone's true thoughts. Thoughts from those who haven't even so much as talked to him of how annoying he is, that he's a monster, how he should just leave, go back to wherever he came from, that the boy should just give up, that he should just die and that'd make their day. The voices wouldn't stop, he can't turn them off. No matter how hard he plugged his ears, the judging thoughts of others entered his head intrusively. 

Enough was enough. He had to get away, anywhere, away from the horrid people around him. 

As such he had ran, and ran, and ran, until he couldn't hear the voices anymore. 

With his breathing finally back under his control, Tamaki takes a look at his surroundings. Green is the most prominent color, painting the world around him. Grass, trees, nature in general. There are much worse places to be lost, really. He begins walking in a random direction, unsure as to where he is going. Blowing off steam seems like a good idea. 

That is, until he hears a soft, high pitched voice. "What's that large thing? It looks kinda scary…" Tamaki looks around a bit, scanning the area for signs of the voice. "Wh-Who is it! I'm not afraid of any of ya!" Maybe he shouldn't have been so aggressive, but if anyone had followed him… no, if one of them had followed him, surely he'd hear their bitter thoughts. He strains his hearing yet again for the voice. 

"Uwaa…! S-scary…" It sounds yet again. Tamaki tries as hard as he can to locate the sound but… it seems as though it's coming from… a squirrel? "That… can't be right… Animals don't talk like humans outside of cartoons. Even I know that." Yet… everything about the whole situation points against that. 

The squirrel opens its mouth once more. "Y-You can understand me…? I thought your kind could not understand us? The white haired one who comes into the forest every now and again certainly can't…"

"Y-Yea, I can hear you talk. It's kinda weird, a squirrel talking to me? What kinda drug am I on… Or maybe I'm just, I dunno, going insane?" 

"I'm glad you can hear me!" The squirrel quiets down for a minute or so before speaking once again. "If you don't mind me asking… why are you here? I don't see your type around here often."

Against his better judgement, Tamaki decides that maybe opening up to a squirrel isn't a bad idea. The small critter's orange fur ruffles a little as it cocks its head towards the blue haired child to hear better. "The other people back there were utter assholes, so I left. That's about it." Of course, he leaves out the part where he, tears in his eyes, had run into the forest entirely haphazardly. However, from the state of his skin, redness around his eyes, it was quite obvious as to what had happened. 

The squirrel appears to try to respond before a voice breaks through the otherwise quiet forest. A beautiful, yet melancholic melody drifts through the air; faint, but still hearable. 

"Oh! It's the white haired beast again..." The squirrel chirps with a slightly concerned tone.

"'White haired beast'? Is it a predator or something?" The youth asks, clearly concerned; after all, if squirrels speak, would it be so odd as to expect others to as well?

"Oh no! The whire haired beast is much like you! Though it has been in this forest for a long time, sometimes I hear his songs… I wish I could help but he cannot understand me…"

"Hm…" Tamaki hums, taking a moment to listen closer. He focuses upon the voice, though quite faint, seems to be fairly easy to decipher, and locate. Quite a bit away, but… the location is not his only problem. He latches onto the thoughts of the one singing these melodies, and what he hears isn't what he expects at all.

The soft voice of a man, not much older than himself, is not quite what he had in mind. But the contents of this man's inner thoughts…

"Someone, please I'm begging… Take me far away from the constant fear! I… I'm so alone here..." 

Something in the young boy snaps. He felt those things, the voice of that man… it's like he's looking at his past self; no. It's as though that voice reflected his thoughts. 

"You hear it too, don't you?" The small, orange furred animal speaks for the first time in a while, startling Tamaki. "The pain in his voice… I may not be able to help but… I'm certain. You have a pure heart and… you can help him."

Tamaki stares at the small critter, unsure of what the thing is talking about. Pure heart? Tamaki? Right as he's about to voice his concerns, the critter beats him to it.

"You've been through what that man has. You can help each other. Go on, follow your heart." With that said, the small squirrel jumps away, leaving Tamaki on his own.

That doesn't matter though, for the bluenette has made up his mind. He makes his way through the shrubbery, towards the voice he hears. It grows louder the closer he gets. The more he hears it, the more he feels his body want to start dancing along, but he doesn't lose sight of his goal. Soon enough, he ends up standing outside of an isolated house, vines crawling up the sides. It looked quite picturesque, as though it had come straight from a fairy tale. Locating the door, he walks over to it and after a moment of hesitation, he knocks upon the door firmly.

The sound of singing suddenly stops, and he's greeted with a rather quite sound of something falling and… shattering? After which, of course, he is greeted with a rather painful silence. He questions if it was a good idea to go this, but Tamaki isn't one to back down! He knocks upon the door yet again, just as strongly as before. Against better judgement, the boy calls out. "Hey! You in there! I heard your singing and it really made me wanna start dancing!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dropping his tea had been quite unexpected, however what else could he do upon his safe space having a knock against it. His body seemed to freeze in fear, but his heart years for this person to be different than the others, for this to be the person who can save him from his isolation. Hoping for the chance to break away from his fear and learn more about what it is like outside.

He slides to the floor, beside the glass that had shattered and attempts to control his breath as the panic truly begins to settle. He needs to gather something to defend himself! This is what his father has always warned him about. This must be the people who have hunted his father down - his family down. He has to be ready. As such, with his breath still out of his control he searches the little cottage for something he could use when things go south. Eventually his hands meet the handle of a metallic frying pan and he starts to calm himself down. 

He has always wanted to hear a knocking on his door - it signaled an escape but now that it’s happening, he has no idea what to do. The world wasn’t made to love someone like him - someone who could easily bring ruin to many people, his eyes that could flash red at any point and somehow turn them into stone. He can’t let the person on the other side in!! 

Tamaki could not take it anymore; his patience run dry. He could hear the panicked thoughts of the occupant of the room; how he was terrified that whoever had come would act violently, and also how he wished for company, someone he could call a friend, and that he wanted change to come. 

"I'm coming in!" Tamaki states as he opens the door in a confident manner. This person… the one who reminds him so much of himself… he'll be there to help the person inside this place. Just like how Tamaki had hoped for someone to be there for him, Tamaki will be the one to be here for this other person! 

Hiding his face covered by the pan he had found, he hears the door opening. He is situated right in front of the door - nothing blocking him other than the pan. Quickly, he has to say something - to make this person go away to protect them. 

“Don’t look in my eyes. You’ll be petrified - turned into stone.” The white haired boy spoke, still looking away from the person who had entered his small home, however the blue haired boy wouldn’t be turned off from continuing onwards. Not when he could hear the voices that swim inside the white haired boys head.

Tamaki just smiled "Y'know… I was just like you…" Tamaki pauses, looking at the white hair peeking out from behind the frying pan, and at the rather closed off posture. The thoughts in the other boy's head seem to quiet as Tamaki speaks. "I was scared of living my life... Scared that I would 'turn to stone'. But... living in a world where no one is ever scared... Wouldn't that be great?” 

“I - That would be wonderful…" Sougo brings up, growing tempted to look beyond the pan that is currently held by his fingers that had stiffened a while ago. What if his eyes go red again - like that one time other times he has interacted with people on the outside. Who is to say that he won’t turn this kind person before him into stone and take the life away from him? Those thoughts flurry through his head before he ultimately decides that he should take the chance. He should take the initiative and reveal his face to the other. 

Purple eyes are soon exposed by the movement of the frying pan being lowered, still clenched in an iron grip. Eyes that hold fear of what is to come yet hopeful of what could be. Taking in the appearance of the boy that stands before him, he comes to the realization that perhaps not all humanity is bad… He still remains cautious though, it could be some kind of sick joke as far as he knows…

"See? It wasn't that hard, was it?" Tamaki smiles gently at the other man. He's shorter than him by a small margin, but he seems to feel the other man was older. "I'm not a stone statue or anything, so… You don't gotta be scared or anything! And… And I'm unarmed! So… I won't hurt you or anything! Promise! So… please don't cry, or swing that around…!" Tamaki addresses the inner thoughts still swirling around the white haired boy's mind. A breach of privacy but… he doesn't exactly know how to turn it off.

"Oh yea! I didn't introduce myself, I'm Tamaki Yotsuba. What's your name?" Nice going, Tamaki. Barging into this person's house and not even introducing yourself.

Sougo cannot help but give a little chuckle at the general attitude this person has, remembering to introduce himself after. Calming down somewhat, the white haired man gives himself a slight nod, still not letting go of that frying pan - he doesn’t know if he can, with his fingers being stuck around it. 

“My name is Sougo Osaka. It’s nice to meet you. That’s what you say when you meet other people, right?” His thoughts has considerably calmed down after the other had decided to talk to him and somehow reassure his own doubts. Of course, he is not completely off guard but this other person doesn’t seem that bad so far, nothing has happened in regards to the other somehow cornering Sougo in response to the powers his eyes hold. Somehow, that doesn’t seem to be the intent of the longer light blue haired guy - Tamaki.

"You really haven't been out much, huh?" Tamaki jokes lightly, still smiling at the shorter man before him. "Yea, that's pretty much what you say." He notes that the white haired boy has loosened his posture if only a little bit. He seems to be getting through to him!

This feeling… helping others. It's new, inviting. It's like just talking to this man is helping himself as well. Like he can speak at ease around him… No one has really felt like that for a long time; at least since Aya left. It feels like he’s moving forward, beyond the times where he was a coward, where he had lost it all. It feels like… he is taking his life back into his own hands.

“Aha… Yeah I haven’t really gone out a lot.” Sougo admits, a bashful smile adorning his facial features. Sougo wonders if this perhaps could be the chance he has been given to go out and explore what has always been off-limits before to him. To finally get a chance to spread his wings and see for himself just what is out there. 

“Say, what made you come all the way out here?” Curiosity wins out over any hesitance he has in asking something like this. “I mean, all the other people who tend to come out this way due to the rumors of what my fa- what I can do.” Sougo admits, hesitantly as if bringing this concern to light could make this person turn away and leave him alone once again.

"I… I had to get away from the voices." Tamaki speaks in a quiet voice. He realizes that the previous statement from Sougo, so it'd be best to be honest. "They weren't very nice, so I had to get away, y'know?" He pauses for a moment, gauging the response from the occupant sitting before him. "Anyway… after I ended up in the forest I heard your voice, and… It really made me wanna dance, right then and there! I dunno how to word this properly or anything, but… your voice has some kinda quality to it that made me wanna hear more, so I followed it here…!" 

Tamaki did well to keep the serious atmosphere, and convey his feelings… until his stomach had to burst out, growling quite loudly. When was the last time he ate again? "Ahaaa… you got any King Pudding here?"

“King… Pudding? I don’t have any of that around here, although I do have food in general if you would like some. It’ll take a little bit to prepare but I’m willing to.” Sougo mentions, finally getting up from his spot beside the broken glass of his teacup. A shame, that was his favorite cup. 

"Thanks a bunch, Sou-chan! You're a lifesaver!" The bluenette blurts out. He really does think with his stomach, it seems…

“S-Sou-chan?” Sougo asks, unused to having his name abbreviated into a nickname. In any case, even after the drama has calmed down he still can’t get himself to let go of the frying pan… Might as well use that to make the food… He walks over to his kitchen and takes the ingredients he needs with his one free hand and begins preparing a simple meal of an omelet. Eventually, his hand did detach from the pan as he begins.

"Yea, Sou-chan! I think it fits quite well!" Tamaki lets out a laugh. "It's a nickname." It feels like the world outside doesn't matter anymore, that the two of them can talk like everything's alright, they're alright. 

“Ah! I’ve read about those. It is quite an interesting thing to make up really, Tamaki-kun.” Sougo says, using Tamaki’s name for the first time talking to him. He continues making the omelet, taking a moment before adding the special ‘sauce’ he has in stock that makes everything he makes better. Though, in a last minute decision he decides to put a bit less than he usually would in case the other may not like it.

In a few easygoing minutes he finishes, the omelet ends up having a light red hue to it but nothing like the amount it would normally have when Sougo makes his own food. With an innocent smile the white haired male plates the omelet and hands it to Tamaki along with a fork and a knife to eat it with.

The food looks suspiciously red, but Tamaki highly doubts that this man would poison the food. Well… he would have heard something about that running through the man's thoughts, but instead just heard something about a… secret sauce? Either way, poison or no, Tamaki's hungry, and the food smells good, so it can't be bad, right? 

"Thanks for the meal!" Tamaki says, a tad too energetically as the plate is placed before him. Without a moment of hesitation, he begins eating. It's… surprisingly spicy…! Tamaki, being the foodie he is, just keeps eating despite the burn. He's a growing boy, after all!

“Do you like it?” Sougo asks the other, looking on as Tamaki eats the food he has created. His thoughts has by now left the darker side of things as his loneliness seemed to become a distant nightmare in the face of this bliss.

“It’s spicy!!” Is the only thing that Tamaki can think to say as he shovels the food into his mouth, forgetting any manners he had learned throughout his life. Food is food, not to mention it definitely isn't the worst thing he has eaten in his life after all. Just the thought of that one makes him shiver. 

“That’s nice to hear, spicy food is really good after all!” Sougo says, unaware that his choice of food might not have been the right thing to feed Tamaki. 

"Ne, Sou-chan… Have you really been alone here for a long time?" Tamaki asks, a bit hesitant to bring up any painful memories from before, but yet… He felt he had to hear it from his new friend; is it alright to call someone you just met a friend?

In any case, Sougo replies with a grim tone. “I - yes I’ve been here alone for a long time. Before it was just me and my father here but after some things happened… let’s just say he didn’t get to come home again aha…" He doesn’t quite feel like going into detail about just what happened, not wanting to damper the atmosphere between the two of them too much.

“It’s been lonely, and I do want to head out into the world but… with how people are… with the power that lie in my eyes, when they turn red at random... I just couldn’t leave and expose others to the dangers. Especially since I’ve been alone for so long. I have no idea if what I’ve heard and read are real, and what is nothing but a fantasy…” He closes his eyes for a moment before opening them once again, unveiling those same purple irises that had been present since he had met Tamaki.

Red eyes… "Hey! How about you come with me, and I'll protect you! I'll protect you from them!" Tamaki pauses. "I'm… not sure if you've noticed but I've got a bit of a problem with red eyes too. It… it causes me to hear things I shouldn't Like I could understand some squirrel out in those woods that told me that you lived here, or the thoughts of the people inside that massive city… It’s overwhelming and I can’t really turn it off reliably just yet" Tamaki shakes his head before continuing, eyes for the first time in their encounter turning their natural shade of blue. "But… I'm not the best with words, and it might be selfish, but... I wanna be with you more, and well. You wanna go to the outside world, so… Why not take the first step?"

“I-” Sougo pauses in his words, remembering the fear that has lied inside of him for so long as well as the loneliness. He decides. He wants to break free, to continue to be in the company of Tamaki and learn about the outside world as much as he possibly can.

“I’ll come with you” Those words, was the beginning that Sougo had wanted so desperately. The ability to break free of the fear and loneliness has been provided by Tamaki. And all they had to do was take that first step. Together.

**Author's Note:**

> On a side note Tamaki's dog was totally called King Pudding, and he eats King Pudding a lot to remember him. 
> 
> Anyway this was an idea that we came across after listening to some Kagerou Project songs while being inside of an IDOLiSH7 discord server aha. As such this monstrosity was created in less than 24 hours. I do hope that you enjoyed it!! 
> 
> Honestly we also came up with basic ideas for some of the other songs in the Kagerou Project and may or may not write those out as well!! Only time will tell really~


End file.
